food running my life

annacataldo · March 2011

Does anyone else get the feeling that dieting runs their life? I'm loving eating healthy and all, but now that I'm trying to lose weight, food is all I'm allowed to think about. If I wake up, no more laying in bed for a couple hours before starting my day, I have to get up right away so I can start drinking my water. Then I have to asap eat breakfast to start my metabolism. Then as soon as I'm done with breakfast, time to log it then I'm already thinking about what my mid morning snack should be, and making lunch to take to work, and planning my afternoon snack too. Then by the time lunch is here I've drunk 10cups of water (a constant reminder n my head going off drink drink drink), by the end of lunch I'm deciding what dinner should be and by nightime snack time I've drank 20cups of water (again every minute of every day--drink water alert is going off).

I no longer have anything to talk about with friends, family, or my boyfriend, all I seem to care about is talking to them about how much I've lost, or how I keep going over on sodium, or what I'm going to have for my next meal.. and I see someone, like my boss who I know wants to lose weight, eating chips everdya, straight out of the bag, and I just want to rip the big from her hands and give her a carrot.

I'm consumed by it. On my days off and I'm home alone for 48hrs, I don't even turn on a movie or nothing, its 'spend all day focusing on my food..hour making each meal, eating it, logging it, thinking about the next meal..if I go to pick out a movie I find myself laying n bed instead thinking about how to be more healthy, or advice id give others that need help, and grabbing my phone and going over my vitamin levels to see what I need to focus foods around, or ..... whatever.

This is fine for now, but I worry that eventually ill get tired of having nothing to talk about with anyone.. I don't want to ever give this up but how do I manage my life around food without thinking about it so much??? I have to eat every two hours and drink water so often that it all seems inevitable.

drog2323 · March 2011

IMO, this sounds pretty serious and you might want to seek professional help and talk to someone who knows more about this stuff.

beccala18 · March 2011

Plan ALL of your meals/snack options on the weekends, then you know you will stay in your calorie limits and that might free some time up to do something outside of just thinking about food. Maybe join an exercise class or group in your area so you have people to work out with that will also give you something to talk about other than your food intake.

Rastrohman · March 2011

It sounds like you are obsessing over your diet rather than looking at the big picture. Losing weight involves a total lifestyle change--not just eating right. Sure, eating healthy plays a major part in losing weight, but so does exercise--and you can do just about anything and burn calories if you do it right. I've actually paid much less attention to my diet and more attention to my activity levels in the past few months and have seen some dramatic weight loss. For example, prior to starting my weight-loss, I'd sit on the bathroom floor while my toddler son was in the bathtub. Now I do squats, pushups, karate kicks, etc. while he takes a bath. If I'm just sitting around, I'll think of things to do to get my heart rate up or burn off more calories rather than focusing on how much food I've eaten or how much more I can eat. Even when I'm at work sitting behind a desk all day, I'll stand up and do lunges or move around much more often now.

The big picture is that your body's net amount of calories is lower than what it was before you started, and you can accomplish that by both eating less AND exercising more. It doesn't just have to be about the food you are eating.

mamafoofer · March 2011

I don't think you need professional help (yet anyway,lol). If you are new to this lifestyle, than of course it will be all consuming for a while. Making drastic changes is a big thing, and for people who struggle with weight it's an even bigger thing, Trying to stay on top of cravings, bad feelings and alter your mindset takes a lot of determination, so it takes up a lot of space in the brain. Give yourself a break, you are making big changes for the better so it is ok to be a bit obsessed in the beginning-it's a scary and exciting time. As you get more comfortable with eating healthy and making healthy decisions becomes the nore-and your start to establish your healthy food menu- it will become almost second nature and you won't have to stress about it as much. But, I will also encourage you to practice taking some time off from thinking about it. Just like you have to force yourself to make healthy choices right now, force yourself once in a while to not think about it- distract yourself from it just a bit.

Go easy on yourself and be proud of the choice you've made to get healthy.

annacataldo · March 2011

Beccala, I can't excercise so can't join a group. I'm so focused on eating healthy that most days I have 500, a thousand, 900, whatever, calories left...I'm trying to figure out how to eat MORE lol.

I also have trouble planning ahead cuz my bf's dad has cancer and idk when my bf can come over or when he can go out.

HolleeERL · March 2011

I know exactly what you are talking about! If you are fairly new at this, I think there is a certain amount of time that you need to focus on or obsess about your food. Once it becomes more of a habit, I think your obsession will taper off. I started the P90X program last year and did the nutritional guide as well. At first, my food strategy was all I could think about - making meals, what we would eat, when we would eat snacks, etc. After a while, I just got used to the routine...well at least while we were still doing the diet. I think good diet habits need focus in order to make them habits for life.

I have come to the realization that this is just going to be part of my life for the rest of my life. Just like when you are exercising, you have to constantly remind yourself of good form. When you lose focus, your form wanes. So, too, you need to be focused on your food. You may not have to do it as often once you know what needs to be done, but you still need to bring yourself back to focus on your goals.

Barelmy · March 2011

Come up with a couple of different meals and snacks of appropriate amounts of calories, and rotate them.

You'll start doing this automatically after a bit, incidentally. You'll get an idea of how many calories are in your normal recipes, so you'll be able to judge very quickly.

I don't see what's wrong with staying in bed, either. Get out of bed for toast, then get back in. And you can probably cut down on the water, too.

NoExcuseTina · March 2011

I laughed while reading this because it sounds like like what I was telling my counselor the other day.

I have been doing this since Feb 8th...and the obsession I had with constantly thinking about what to eat is still there, but is less than it was. What helps me is I usually try to plan things out the night before (and go ahead and enter it into MFP)...that way, during the day there is less thinking about food...when it is time to eat, I look at what I planned to eat and just eat...then since I logged it the night before, I do not have to take the time to log after I eat.

My opinion...sometimes when we are changing our life...we will grow apart with some of our friends...just like when anyone changes major things in their life...for example:
someone decides to quit smoking...they will probably avoid friends that smoke for a while
someone decides to stop drinking...they will probably avoid friends that drink and bar environments
someone decides to eat healthy...they will probably avoid friends that eat at fast food everyday
someone decides to exercise more...they will probably avoid friends that sit on the couch all night

It is about choices...everyone makes them...hopefully your friends and family will see how HAPPY you are with your new choices and they will start wanting to make the same choices!

Hope this helps!

annacataldo · March 2011

Rastrohman- I completly agree with u about burning extra calories like that...however I can't do squats, def not karatee kicks, or those types of things. I can't work out so I have to focus on food, and can't think about excercise. I jog n place a few minutes a day but that's about it, anymore and I'm doomed.

I don't have cravings, and I'm certainly not forcing myself to eat healthy. I LOVE IT!

This is my 3rd week n however I've always loved eating healthy and cooking, etc. Its easy for me to eat this way. But before id go to mcdonals and get stuff off the $ menu a lot..near everyday, sometimes 2x a day. Id do this a lot towards the end of the month when my cupboards start to become bare. Now I've recognized this and am always keeping snack foods, easy to grab stuff readily available, while having plenty to choose from for making meals n the fridge and not letting kitchen get down to foods I don't feel like eating. My problem before was also portions. And I struggles with that my 1st week of dieting, however a sandwich fills me now so portions aren't a problem ;-)

stormieweather · March 2011

With time, it will become more second nature. You might need to relax a bit because if you come in a bit under your water goal, it won't hurt much. 2 hours more of rest is probably more important (getting enough rest is important to losing weight!!). Pre-plan your day's meals and then stick to it. Sit down at night, before you go to bed and, based on your cumulative knowledge, plan what you'll eat tomorrow. For example, I know that I can't go until 7:30 without snacking on soccer nights, so I have to add in a baby protein bar or greek yogurt (or I'll end up in teh chip bag). You can play with your food to figure out how to get your protein up and keep your fats down and still vary your meals. Take out themeat to be defrosted for the next day and then RELAX...knowing you have it all covered. :flowerforyou:

annacataldo · March 2011

I'm not having problem with fats at all or carbs, but am having problems keeping salts down and sometimes sugars. Yesterday I had a yogurt and then I had 10g of sugar to get me through rest of day...needless to say by lunch I was over on sugar. And then yesterday was prob the first day my sodiums been under. Protein I go over sometimes but that ones prob ok.

Most days I can only get to 15cups water, but I'm suppose to drink 20. Yesterday I drank 23

jbootman · March 2011

This too has been a concern of mine. I am convinced that I have an eating disorder. I am a chronic conditioned hypereater as defined by Kessler in his book The End of Overeating, which I highly recommend by the way.

So I want to be normal. I do not want to trade one addiction for another.

After reading Kessler's book I can see how I got this way. The way out is not so clear, But I am convinced that MFP is one of my strongest tools.

I started by creating an ideal breakfast, using foods I like, lowest calories, highest fiber, lowest fat, lowest sodium. I also do not have the time to cook etc. I wanted the convenience of ready to eat that is where fresh veg and fruit help.

I boiled eggs and only eat the whites. I found Fiber One Original cereal and Almond Breeze unflavored milk. I MEASURE EVERYTHING TO THE EXACT GRAM.

Now it is easy I can make my coffee without measuring the almond milk I use.

I set my food scale to zero my bowl and add 100g berries and 60g Fiber One, use my 1/4 cup measure to get exactly 1/4 cup almond milk, in another bowl zeroed out I add tomato slices, try to remember the exact number, around 300g and unpeel some eggs, tossing the yolks, better fat garbage than fat me,

I boil up several dozen eggs at a time and replace them in the cartons, marking B so rest of family sees,

I eat this every morning so that when I log it is easy, repeat yesterdays menu, maybe change gs of tomatoes, quick easy, healthy and cheap,

I do the same for lunch, I really want to keep my sodium down so I found a water-pack low sodium brand==Trader Joes and mix it with Fage yogurt, finely chopped celery, and pile it on rice cakes that have laughing cow cheese spread on, I make up 2-4 days of this tuna filling at a time so I can just lop it on the rice cakes, again my log in is easy because i just repeat from the day before,

dinner at my house is made not by me, I have the absolute luxury of not cooking, so I find out what is being cooked for dinner and have only a bit, and I mean a bit 50g of chicken or beef, but usually lots of veg,

and I do login to MFP early each morning and keep it open until I go to bed, months ago when I started this new lifestyle I was on MFP hours each day while I changed my eating habits and choices, now even though I still login I do not need such support,

I can see my cravings changing, I am exploring new activities, new flavors, new ideas,

a new me will take months/years to emerge, what is the hurry? I will still be here, only healthier....

SortaBadass · March 2011

Second everyone else: you should become less obsessed with time.

To avoid this in my own life -- because I can totally become obsessive if I let myself -- I make a big pot of crockpot food and eat it throughout the week whenever I haven't planned out a meal. It helps cut down my food anxiety/obsession knowing that I have a healthy backup available.

I think the other important thing is to realize that you are definitely going to have bad days and that's just life. If you stress too much about going over, it's harder to take a step back and breathe. When you start treating it more as a week-to-week change instead of a day-to-day struggle, it gets easier.

annacataldo · March 2011

i need to get me some supplies: but right now im only at a few hours of work a week so cant afford it at the moment.
A bathroom scale. (undressing in the bathroom at work, after ive already ate breakfast and drank water, so i dont know my actual weight, but i know im close--i also weigh myself with bra on, socks on, and 4 big 4gauge earrings).
A kitchen scale.
A measuring tape.

I measure things i eat, but im so far under my calories all the time that it doesnt matter if I go over just a tad bit.

I make things for the week at times as well. Like this week was spaghetti. (whole wheat noodles, veggies in the meatballs and sauce). or making 2cups of rice when i only eat half a cup at a time. or pre-making chicken and keeping it diced up in the fridge so i can add to salads, or for a meal. or making a few boiled eggs at a time so i can use egg whites in salads.

and i barely use the site, im not addicted to forums or any of that, i dont feel i have to have the encouragment from everyone. I am a phone user, so the application doesnt have forums or friends, etc. I didnt even know i could have friends or any of that until last week. But it is nice to get some advice, like this, or to see the success stories of real people (and not people on tv commercials) that have lost so much.

I really appreciate all the help today with this post, it is nice to know that its not just me.

I dont struggle with staying under my calories, im struggling with eating high calorie foods to make my calorie count HIGHER... i go to the store and i buy everything based off the lowest calories...but then in the end even after eating 6x a day im way way under. i stay full all day. I need to replace something low in cal for high in cal and im struggling with that concept! I cant justify 160calories for a 1/4cup of nuts when im starving afterwards when I could eat a baked potato for 100calories and be full.. but everyone tells me to eat nuts to up my calories... so i have been, two days in a row now...and yesterday even after having almonds and peanuts and yogurt like people suggested and increasing my snack size by well over double the amount of calories i would normally allow myself, i was like 300 or so cal under... then i have trouble justifying using calories on beverages, or eating something full flavor wehn i could be eating reduced cal... the other day i was 600calories under, and that was after eating out and eating a huge roast beef sandwich on a french sub with garlic bread and a shot of tequila. the day before was 900calories under. and again, i stay full all day long. im def not someone who can starve myself!! im italian for christs sake LOL

suzycreamcheese · March 2011

Its so easy to get carried away.
Last night, i was having brilliant sex with my boyfriend, and in the middle of it, i suddenly realised I hadnt logged my evening meal!

I mean, how sad is that?

for what its worth, i didnt stop to go and log it

I think that would have been a step too far

scagneti · March 2011

I have an obsessive personality too. I go balls in crazy for a while and then when the initial novelty of it is over, then I start to obsess over something else. It'll be all I can think about (my husband laughs at me because I'll be sitting on the couch really quiet and he'll say "you've had a great idea about ..., haven't you?" and I'll say "how did you know?", and he'll say "because your foot and leg starts bouncing up and down when you're excited about something and that's all you're thinking about right now". It'll be what the majority of my conversations are about and I'll try to convert someone to the same method of thinking and I'll get all upset when they can't see how brilliant my plan is. And I saw it happening with MFP.

So I stopped logging my calories & exercise in my diary. Just stopped. I have a meal plan that's pretty static, so I know that I'm near the totals. If I'm going to eat something different, I'll still look it up, but I don't log it so I don't see those green and red numbers SCREAMING back at me. Taunting me. I have my set days to work out and days to rest, and I still use my HRM so I know if I didn't go in as much as I should, but I don't log it.

I don't think that's necessarily the answer for you, but it's helped me substanially. I have conversations about other things (although I did turn someone on to MFP, but didn't offer to be their friend), and I only OCCASSIONALLY peruse the message boards instead of constantly lurk (I'm on it a little longer today because work is particularly boring this afternoon, so I needed something to keep me going). I've found that MFP is a little too much for my obsessive personality so I need to cut back to keep from going mad!

(so you're not the only one! :flowerforyou: )

food running my life

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